How to Turn Off Instagram's "Activity Status"

Unless you want everyone to know about your Insta addiction.

Imagine a world where everyone knows how much time you waste on Instagram. No, it’s not a new episode of Black Mirror, it’s here today, because of a new feature introduced in Wednesday’s iOS and Android Instagram updates.

What Is this New “Activity Status” Feature?

In your messages folder, instead of displaying when you last DM’d someone, the app now tells you how recently that person was on Instagram (similar to Facebook Messenger). And they can see your activity, too. Think of the “activity status” feature as Read Receipts 2.0. Not only can people see that you’ve ignored their messages, they know when you’re ignoring them!

Messages with activity status feature enabled

On the bright side, it’s excellent for stalking. But it’s not so great if you want to maintain your cool DGAF persona. The truth is out.

How to Hide Your Activity Status

Don’t panic! If you want to resume covert Instagram usage, there’s a fix. With a brief foray into your Instagram settings, you can hide that embarrassing scrolling addiction and keep on pretending that you haven’t responded to your messages because you haven’t checked Instagram.

All is well in the world again

Just scroll down until you find the tab labeled, “Show Activity Status,” and switch it off. Your messages folder will revert to the pre-update display and show the last time a DM was sent in each thread.